Puberty
by GrinGrin
Summary: Life just got weird. Not bad-weird, just... weird.


_AN: Check out my other story, Hormones. It's a series of drabbles set in the Puberty 'verse, as outlined below._

_I do not own Danny Phantom._

**Puberty**

Puberty was an absolute bitch.

This was a simple truth that everyone knew. Voices changed, things grew and friendships became weird. It was simple. It was ordinary.

Unless you were a halfa.

Puberty hit Danny like a sledgehammer.

On both an emotional and a physical scale.

The physical changes were welcome, don't doubt that. He grew suddenly and without warning. He just woke up one day and realised he no longer had to stretch to reach the top shelves. Hell, he could actually _see_ what was on those shelves now-a-days.

Couple a puberty-induced growth-spurt with all the exercise he got from ghost-fighting? Oh boy.

He suddenly saw why his future self looked more like the Hulk than Spiderman.

He wasn't the only one to notice. He also wasn't the only one to be hit by the hormone-hammer.

Tucker didn't so much grow as he stretched. Danny wasn't short, not by any stretch, but Tucker still saw clear over his head. Not to mentioned Tuck's latest obsession – his goatee. But if there was one thing Danny didn't want, it was a goatee. He looked too much like Dan already.

But Sam? Cute little, slim Sam? Damn.

What did he ever see in Paulina again?

Tomboy, goth Sam suddenly turned into something most guys agreed were their ideas of a sexed-up emo Tinkerbell. Things got weird between them. Oh boy, did it ever.

Hormone driven decisions and attractions were absolute hell, especially if you were as close as those three were. It probably hit Danny the hardest though. Even if Sam and Tuck had a true friendship, they were still Danny's friends first, and each other's friend second.

Danny's honesty and his blatant lack of social skills… it led to some interesting conversations and events. Like his confession of having a dream about Sam in her Undergrowth-wear with her more developed body. That didn't end well.

Or his admission that he found a couple of the ghost-gals hot.

That didn't go down well, at all.

Especially since it seem some of them heard him. Kitty broke up with Johnny for the umpteenth time. And suddenly she got really stalkery. As in, watching Danny sleep. In his room. Wearing only lingerie. And following him into the shower.

Not cool.

Never even mind that he loved chasing Ember nowadays. Cute, leather-clad butt as the view while he was getting a hell of a workout? Yes please. Strangely, she seemed to favour running nowadays more than flying. Not that he was complaining, but all of the girls in his life were weird.

He wondered if Desiree had anything to do with that. His train-of-thought suddenly ran into one hell of a brick wall. He could wish for anything (not that he would. One, he had his pride and two, he was actually a decent guy. Even if his brain did go down some strange paths lately). ANYTHING. His ice power were used more for an impromptu- cold-shower than in actually fights.

Even his interactions with the guy-ghost were different. Less frantic. More talking. Hell, even less fighting. Skulker invited him to go hunting some time. Technus helped with Science homework. Point Dexter helped with History. Live really was getting strange. But strange-good, not strange-bad.

Except Vlad. That fruit-loop never changed. He only got easier to beat up.

AN: I don't know, okay?

This just jumped into my mind and wouldn't go away.

But, in my defence, there is a probable reason for the change in attitude, ghost-wise.

Danny grew exponentially stronger during puberty (think Dark Danny – a.k.a. Dan – levels). That's just too much trouble for most ghosts. So the guys get a little scared and prefer to bond with the (most likely) strongest ghost than fight it.

As for the girls? I'm kind of on the fence if there just messing with him cause they're bored or because they find all that power mighty attractive. Or maybe someone DID make a wish.

And I apologise for putting on my stupid-perverted-teenage-male-face on, but come on! Desiree? Any wish? Any wish at all? Power Perversion Potential. That is all.

I've always loved the idea of Danny being more of a frenemy to the ghost than an outright enemy, barring the occasional subversion (Walker, Pariah Dark, Ghost Writer, even the observers).

So read, enjoy and review, if you please.

Even mocking is useful so that I know what to avoid next time.

~GrinGrin

Written: 05/12/2013

Posted: 05/12/2013

Updated: 07/12/2013


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